#6 - "Career Decision"

"The destruction is incredible," Sheryl Campbell commented aloud. She swept her platinum blonde hair away from her eyes as she watched the video unfold. My boss was getting a first hand view of the damage done to Tyler Labs courtesy of the images Jaime had recorded earlier in the day. Sheryl was witnessing on the wide screen monitor what I had seen.

My Tuesday had started out simple enough. I slept in, recovering from my late night activities with the Huntress against the Dragon Lords. My only appointment was to escort Muskateer to Tyler Labs to pick up the prototype flying scooter we had made for him. While we were trying out the scooter the Lab was attacked by a gigantic tank and a band of thugs. Muskateer and I went to deal with this threat, but quickly learned that this was just a diversion.

In reality, the target that the criminals were after was a prototype mini-sub being tested in the Labs' large pond. A VTOL cargo plane was hovering in place while hooks were being attached to the submarine. We quickly put an end to that threat by slicing the lifting lines, preventing the sub theft.

The guys on the plane decided to cut their losses and flee, but we gave chase on the flying scooter and managed to catch the aircraft before it could get away. Daringly, Muskateer piloted his new toy into the cargo plane's bay doors before they could be shut on us.

More fighting with thugs took place, until the leader of these goons stepped in and wrapped us up in a steel bolo. He proclaimed himself to be Fuergeson the Great, 'sooper-geeenius'. If you ask me, fruitcake would have sufficed. Fuergeson had to be the most physically unimpressive villain that I had yet to encounter. And that's saying a lot!

Anyway, old Fuergy gets the bright notion of crashing the cargo plane into the Tyler Labs research building. Let me tell you, at that moment I was really afraid. Dying in a violent plane crash is bad enough, but when the building that you're going to crash into holds dangerous chemicals and lethal radioactive material, you take things seriously! The consequences of this act could be catastrophic for the local area!

Of course, we managed to escape this dastardly trap and avoid the crash. But you knew that, otherwise I wouldn't be talking to you right now. Fuergy and some of his goons managed to make a clean get away. Some were captured and a few had been killed in the conflict when the Terrible Tank exploded. That was their own doing, by the way. Whacking off villains goes against the heroic code after all.

But that was just the beginning of the bad things happening at Tyler Labs. Once safely back on the ground, we rushed to help out with rescue efforts. You see, the tank had fired several times into the Main Office Building making it look more like Swiss cheese than a place of business. Staffers were rescued, but we found the Director of Tyler Labs dead in his office. From the looks of it there had been a tremendous explosion in that room. That's when my warning signals for something being fishy had gone off. (Editor's Note: A quick re-cap of Muskateer #19-20)

I spent the next several hours overseeing the situation for Sheryl Campbell. Not only was Sheryl my boss, but she also owned Tyler Labs. In spite of all the damage the tank had done, only Harold Shuttleworth, the former director, had been killed in the attack. I made sure that the staff had been taken to receive medical care and notified their families as needed.

Obviously, the Main Office was going to be out of commission while it was being repaired, so I located what pertinent data I could and transferred it to other locations, be it digital or good old fashioned paper. As I worked, Jaime recorded what I was seeing of the damage done to the building. That's what Sheryl was watching at this very moment. The video, coupled with research Jaime would perform overnight, would provide us with a estimate on how long it would take to repair the damage and a rough idea on how much it would cost.

It was evening by the time I returned to my apartment inside the main Campbell Industries International plant. A quick shower and an impromptu dinner followed while we prepared our report for Sheryl. It was just after nine by the time I had been shown into Sheryl's private office. I had switched to more mundane clothing at this point.

"From what I've seen and what you told me, this could have been much, much worse," Sheryl summarized. "It is regrettable what happened to Harold Shuttleworth, but the death toll could have been higher. Just who is this Fuergeson the Great?"

"Former Tyler Labs employee gone nuts," I told Sheryl while Jaime flashed Fuergeson's personnel file on the large view screen. "Stephen Fuergeson was fired by the former owners for performing dangerous and unauthorized research. One of his experiments quite literally blew up in his face, nearly blinding him. He had a history of being eccentric and difficult to work with, but nothing approaching his current homicidal state. Perhaps the explosion did more than just weaken his sight. It might have made him crackers in the process."

"If you can bring this madman to justice for the murder of Harold Shuttleworth, I would be most pleased, Jessica," Sheryl commented. "He was a good man who certainly deserved much better. I'll make sure that his family is taken care of."

"I'll be more than happy to round up this loon. It's not going to be easy, as he appears to be quite inventive when it comes to gadgets and equipment." The tank and the weapons used by his goons were proof of that. Turns out that the tank was remote controlled once I had the chance to look it over. That would help explain why they fired the main gun after Muskateer had sliced it with his sword. Fuergy inadvertently blew up his own tinker toy. Apparently ol' Fuergy had no problem in sacrificing people and gizmos to achieve his goals.

"In the meantime, the Labs will have to continue on as best as they can. Fortunately, the main research areas were untouched, so we shouldn't have much trouble in meeting our deadlines. However, finding a new Director so suddenly could present a problem. Anyone who we can promote from in house?"

We, meaning Jaime and I, had already considered the point over the last few hours and had prepared accordingly. "The current Assistant Director is Roma Asheland." A picture of a woman with short reddish-blond hair appeared on the screen. "If she could be groomed for another year or more, she would make a fine Director. However, right now I'm not so sure she's cut out for the job."

"You have someone in mind?", Sheryl asked of me.

"Of a fashion. I'm not sure he can actually do the job or that he is the best candidate for the long haul. However, I feel that at this particular moment, he is the best choice for the job."

I could sense and see Sheryl's bright blue eyes grow noticeably colder at my answer. "It's been a very long day, Jessica. I've had dozens of meetings that I would have rather not attended and I'm working late as it is. Quit beating around the bush and get to the point already."

"Sorry. I don't feel that Roma is correct for the job right now because I believe that Harold Shuttleworth was murdered." I paused to let that set in.

"Of course he was murdered. Fuergeson's tank shot at him."

"Wrong!", I quickly countered. "It was bugging me all the time while Muskateer and I were rescuing staffers in the building. The tank fired two shots into the building. I have them recorded and know exactly where they hit. None struck the Director's Office. The closest was over forty feet away!"

Jaime supplied visual aids as I tried to explain my theory to Sheryl. It showed the Tank's firings on a three dimensional representation of the Main Building. Our display showed where each hit struck and its trajectory. Neither of the shells struck the area of the Director's Office.

"Perhaps you simply didn't see that particular shot?", Sheryl offered.

"Possible, but I also only heard two shots being fired. There was a third, but that's when the tank blew itself up, so it doesn't count." I passed back and forth in front of the viewscreen gathering my thoughts. "Even if I did miss a shot, there is something else that can't be explained. The tank fired in a straight line on each and every documented shot. The Director's Office was on the far side of the building-- opposite from the tank."

"Meaning that if one of the tank's shells had actually caused the explosion, then there would a large hole in the building between the tank and the office," Sheryl rationalized. "According to what you've shown me, no such hole exists."

"Exactly. The only thing that makes sense is that something else caused that explosion. Was it an accident or on purpose? I can't say for sure. What I can say is that someone wanted Harold Shuttleworth dead for some reason. That's why Roma is not the best choice for the job right now. We might just make her the next target."

Sheryl leaned back in her expensive leather chair and pondered for a few moments. "What we need is someone much harder to kill than a normal person. Someone with superpowers."

"Precisely. It can't be someone known to the Tyler Labs' staff, so that excludes anyone in the Freedom League. No, we're going to have to go outside the organization."

"And hire this mystery man you keep referring to. So who is he?"

"Muskateer," I answered simply. "He has enough basic scientific skills to hold his own with the staff. Jaime can fudge up his resume a bit to make him more suitable for the position. I have no idea about his management or people skills. But he does fit our criteria. And if someone is out to get the director, Muskateer will ruffle his feathers fast enough to force our assassin into action."

"Have Jaime print me up a complete proposal. I'm going to take some time to consider this." At this point, Sheryl leaned forwards and placed her arms on the desk. "You've done outstanding work in this matter, Jessica. In fact, you've been a tremendous asset the last few weeks between handling the LawTech situation and now Tyler Labs."

I hadn't expecting praise like this. It was, after all, just part of my job. Or rather the role that I had fallen into with Sheryl. "Just doing my job," I answered modestly.

"Actually, no, you're not. This wasn't the job that you were hired for. Rather, it is a position that you've grown into over the years. I've been giving you assignments that go far beyond our original contract. You've been acting as my eyes and ears in certain situations. I've come to rely on your technological savvy and your understanding of people. Jaime has been indispensable since the time you both arrived here. I think that it's high time that you be compensated according."

"What did you have in mind?", I asked, more than a bit curious.

"I would like to make you a Director of Operations. You would answer to me, which you already do, so that wouldn't change. However, I would put you in charge of overseeing company interests at Tyler Labs and LawTech for starters. You think Muskateer is the right man for the job, then go ahead and hire him."

The prospect was both appealing and daunting at the same time. "What about my role in the Freedom League?"

"I imagine that it wouldn't change all that much," Sheryl continued. "You've certainly proven that you are able to create lots of free time. Plus, you can always oversee projects more than working hands on. Naturally, there will be salary and benefit changes to match your new position. Say, something along the line five times your current salary, shares of company stock, and so on. Benefits befitting your new status."

"I don't know what to think," I managed to stammer out and it was true. This had literally come out of left field on me. "I really don't have much business experience..."

"You've shown me that you can learn things at an ungodly rate in the past. I'm sure that you'll pick up everything you'll need virtually overnight." Literally, if I had to.

I couldn't debate with Sheryl on that point. All Jaime had to do was create a business knowledge database that I could access. Knowledge and skill were not a problem. Give me a little time and I could be an expert at virtually any field you could think of. No, 'did I really want to become a corporate executive' was my sticking point.

"I know it's a big decision," Sheryl continued. "You don't have to give me an answer right now. Think it over for a couple of days." Sheryl rose from her chair and stifled a yawn. "Anything else before I retire for the evening?"

"A couple minor things," I answered, momentarily putting the job offer into the back of my mind. "Apparently, Fuergeson hacked into the Labs' computer system and shut down the defense grid right before his attack. I've checked and it's been awhile since the last security upgrade on TL's systems. Plus, I have no idea why he needed to steal the mini-sub. He's certainly demonstrated the technological skills to make one of his own."

Sheryl stood silent for a few moments, digesting what I had told her. "Include what you consider to be necessary in the estimate for repairing the office building. Good night."

"'Night," I waved as Sheryl departed her office. Her personal assistant was waiting outside. In a matter of moments, Sheryl would be in her private helicopter on the way to her estate. Me, I just headed back to my quarters. It may not be a fancy estate, but at least it's home.

"So what's your take on all of this, Jaime?", I telepathically inquired from my cybernetic alter ego as I slowly walked back to my apartment. "What do you think we should do?"

"Sheryl's right in the aspect that this is something we have been doing for her anyway, so it's no great stretch. We've been offering suggestions and advice in these areas for years now. The only real change is that we bear the success or failure of those decisions."

"I know," I sighed back to Jaime. "I just have the feeling that if I do this, I'll be giving up a great deal of my personal freedom. My ability to function as the Scarlet Sabre when and where I please."

"That is a possibility. Or, given the nature of this higher profile position, you might see even more action. Tyler Labs has always had trouble with supervillains in the past. There is no reason to assume that this will not continue."

"I just don't know if I want that responsibility or not."

"You?", Jaime sent me in an almost shocked tone. "Shying away from responsibility?"

"It's one thing to take risks as the Scarlet Sabre," I patiently answered my 'sister', "but it's another to take the responsibility for the actions of others. For instance, what if I'm right about someone out to murder the Director of Tyler Labs. I hire Muskateer and someone does kill him. Do you have any idea how awful I would feel if that happened?"

"Especially since you're in love with him."

"Let's just leave it at very infatuated with him. Actual love might have come later on, provided our personalities meshed well enough," I answered defensively. "I mean just because he's tall, handsome, muscular, has a brash edge to him..."

"Just because he's a borderline egomaniac is no reason to find him attractive," Jaime finished mischievously. "Nope, none at all. I've seen enough soap opera relationships come and go that I can see this one would be heading for disaster."

"Okay, so we're alike in some ways. It does make a good working chemistry. But, on the other hand being so similar might not make a good relationship."

"This isn't about Muskateer, Jess. The problem is that you haven't been out on a date in ages. I could give you the exact length of time if you so desire."

"That won't be necessary," I shot back to Jaime, a little annoyed. "I will grant you that I'm a bit overdue in the dating department. It's not like I'm going to hang out in bars hoping for Mr. Right to walk in. I'm not that desperate."

Still, it would be nice to have a steady boyfriend. I've always seemed to shy away from any serious relationship with a normal man. Normal in the sense of superpowers, that is. That old chestnut about hiding your secret other life, or revealing it to someone else whom you may not end up trusting did make things difficult. Not only did I have to worry about my Scarlet Sabre persona, but Jessica Flynn was a well known expert in the field of computers. Throw in Jaime to the mix and I had more than enough reason to be hesitant when it came to relationships.

I had all those dreams that young girls dreamt of. Dreaming of the day I would get married, when I would become a mother, and raising children. I've also wondered how my children would turn out. Would they share my link to Jaime or not? My job at CII and the fruits of my computer innovations had pretty much set me up for life. So, taking the job Sheryl was offering wasn't going to be about money. Granted, it would give me a lot more money, but money itself wasn't the issue.

"I would have less time for scientific research," I told Jaime. "That's where time for this new job would come from."

"Like Sheryl herself said, you would oversee projects more instead of working on them personally. Which isn't all that much different from the current state of things."

Again, Jaime was right. Primarily I would do design work, run the results through computer simulations, and then make the necessary adjustments. The project would then be handed off to those who would do the actual work.

"Plus, we've pretty much reached the limits of current technology as it is," Jaime added.

That was also true. The Lore 3000 chip was the most advanced silicon computer chip ever created. Unfortunately, with that chip we had hit the limitations of the current state of computer chip technology. Simply put, no other silicon chip could ever be as advanced as the Lore 3000. Ever.

More advanced chips would have to be conceived and constructed out of different materials. I had a radical theory in mind that I would dearly love to try, but even if I personally worked on it, it was going to take years to perfect this new design. I won't bore you with the details, but what I had in mind was a Quantum Computer Chip. If my theories were correct and I could get this thing to work, then it would be a giant leap in computer technology.

"Losing research time is not a limiting factor then," I concluded. "The more we go over this, there really isn't any compelling reason to not accept the job."

"Other than not wanting to do it," Jaime inserted. "Not wanting the responsibility."

"I still want to think about it." By now I had reached my apartment and turned in for the evening. I was physically and emotionally drained from the day's events. I slept while Jaime worked tirelessly on the tasks given to her.

"Good morning, Jessica," Jaime sent me once she was aware of me now being awake. Groggily I glanced at the clock and found it to be nearly eight AM.

"How are you doing?", I asked as I sat up in bed.

"Same as always, sister dear. I've put together the rough estimate for the repairs to the Tyler Lab office building. Ran background checks on Fuergeson and that strange vortex that formed over Central Park Monday afternoon. Also investigated the string of high-tech thefts Muskateer mentioned."

Of course, Jaime never really does change. She's pretty much been the same since first being 'born'. She doesn't suffer from the same mood swings that I do. Which is probably a good thing. Jaime never gets tired, doesn't need rest, or take vacations. She performs tasks that would have taken a normal person days, if not weeks, to perform during the few hours I was asleep.

Jaime mentally reviewed the information while I started out my morning. Breakfast was waiting for me when I reached the kitchen. "The damage done to the Tyler Labs offices should take only a week to ten days to repair. They'll be back in business in less than two weeks."

"That's great."

"Fuergeson dropped out of sight after his little accident that triggered his dismissal. Incidents at the hospital suggest that he blamed the original owner for his firing. How they were jealous of his genius and he was innocent of any wrongdoing. He even went so far as to blame his accident on his co-workers."

"Blaming everyone but himself," I noted mentally. "Typical of a megalomaniac."

"Almost sounds like Resonator."

"Scary, isn't it?", I joked in response. Resonator was one of my teammates on the Freedom League. Unfortunately, he wasn't among the list of my favorite people. He could be an arrogant jerk at times. Sort of like Fuergeson, from what I was learning. Only Resonator wasn't a cold-blooded killer. Like they say, there truly is a thin line between sanity and insanity.

"Unfortunately, I haven't picked up any leads that would let us track him down. He is quite intelligent and extremely dangerous, in spite of his unthreatening appearance."

"Too bad. I so wanted to get another crack at him."

"I managed to put in a little time on the string of high-tech robberies Muskateer was talking about," Jaime continued. "I couldn't come up with anything very useful using all the items that have been stolen to date. That's when I started to think about our buddy Fuergeson and the gear his men were packing."

"That's very good thinking. We hadn't considered that the robberies had been performed by more than one party."

"Thank you," Jaime sent modestly. "Anyway, if we factor out the stuff I would suspect Fuergeson of stealing to manufacture his equipment, we get some interesting results."

"Don't leave me in suspense," I urged. "Out with it."

"It leaves us with a working device whose effects I can only speculate upon. Our missing Energy Amplification Array would be at the heart of this device."

That figured. The EAA had just been stolen several days ago. Obviously, someone needed it for this gizmo. I wonder if they knew the device was flawed?

"What kind of effects are we talking about?" I hate it when she plays twenty questions with me like this. Just come right out and say it for goodness sakes! Of course I have the tendency to do that to other people like I did with Sheryl last night. Getting a taste of my own medicine.

"Just having some fun, Jess. Take it easy. I would guess that our mystery device generates an intense electromagnetic field of unusual properties."

"What exactly could you do with this thing, then?"

"That's the part I can only speculate upon. Clearly, it's not a weapon of conventional design. I have yet to uncover any pertinent information on the theory behind this design."

"Well, keep working on it, Jaime. You're bound to turn up something." Jaime monitored anything and everything she could to keep up on latest happenings. There had to be something in her database that would relate to this mysterious device.

While Jaime worked, I decided to go for a walk. I had finished up my morning exercises and was ready to get out of the apartment. My personal lab was adjacent to my apartment. I wandered through it a bit, but nothing really attracted my attention. I was currently in between projects, so there was no work to keep me here.

"Jessica! I though I heard you in here."

Turning I could see a tall, thin black woman approaching me. A large smile was etched on her face. She was dressed plainly enough with a white lab coat covering her blouse and slacks.

"Hi, Beth," I greeted as I met her halfway. We exchanged friendly hugs. "It's been awhile." Unknown to the majority of the world, Mary Beth Williams was secretly the alter ego of the heroine Microwave. Microwave was the unofficial leader of the Freedom League by virtue of being the first member. Like all members of the Freedom League, she was a scientist with her field being physics and sub-atomic physics.

"Too long," Beth agreed. Much like the other Freedom League members, Beth is frequently away on assignments. She had been away on a job assignment the last few weeks. Of all my teammates, I liked Beth the best. She can be a bit on the shy side, but has a big, compassionate heart. It was so refreshing to be around her after doses of FIST or Resonator. Other than Radiance, she was the only married Freedom Leaguer. And like Radiance, she lived in the city with her family.

"How are the kids?"

"Getting bigger every day," Beth answered with a smile. "Take a look." She withdrew her latest batch of pictures from her pocket. Eagerly, I dug into the new photos. Robert and Amanda were the names of her children. They were twins and were now four years old.

"And still adorable."

"They keep asking me when is the next time their Aunt Jessica is going to come over." Having dinner over at the Williams' was something of a regular occurrence. I think it was Mary Beth's way of dragging me out of the lab at times. At least she hasn't tried to play matchmaker with me yet. You know how eager married folks are to get us single people hitched.

"All you have to do is invite me," I countered with a grin.

"Considered yourself invited for tonight."

"Deal. So what are you up to?", I inquired.

"Touching base with everyone," Mary Beth answered simply. "A lot has gone on while I was away. I just came from visiting Speedster and Silver Arrow in the infirmary." Being the first of the Freedom League, Microwave tended to watch over all the other members like a mother hen. She felt it her responsibility, I suppose.

Speedster and Silver Arrow were other members of the Freedom League, both of whom had been injured recently. Silver Arrow, as the name suggests he's an archer extraordinary, was mauled by the Shadow Demons like I had been. Fortunately, his wounds were far less severe. While I continued to rest at Bryn's Clinic, Silver Arrow had been sent back to our base to be treated by FIST. FIST was the personal physician for everyone in the Freedom League.

Speedster was our resident speedster. That was pretty obvious. His particular field was chemistry. Speedster was a fairly nice guy. We even dated a bit back in the early days of the Freedom League, but the existence of Jaime was a bit more than he could deal with. We've remained friendly over the passing years. Speedster was recovering from a concussion suffered when the Energy Amplification Array had been stolen. (Editor's Note: Back in Scarlet Sabre #3)

"I was planning on stopping by today to check on them myself. I sometimes get so wrapped up in my own affairs that I forget about the other Freedom Leaguers."

"Which is why I came to see you," Beth responded. That was typical for Microwave as I mentioned earlier.

"How are the guys doing?"

"Speedster is healing nicely," Mary Beth reported. "FIST is going to release him tomorrow. Silver Arrow is another story."

"I thought that he was out of danger?" At least the medical reports that FIST had filed seemed to suggest that he was going to recover from his injuries.

"He's thinking about retiring from the hero game. I'm not sure that I blame him."

"Oh... I didn't know that." Silver Arrow lacked many of the advantages that myself and the other Freedom League members had. Basically, he was a normal man who was uncannily accurate with the bow and arrow. While tending to stay on the sidelines in a battle, Silver Arrow took far more physical punishment than the rest of us did by virtue of not being able to take much punishment. Additionally, his specialty of botany didn't have as much corporate importance as some of our other projects. Between the limits of his field and his body, I could understand why he might want to call it quits.

"He's talking about leaving CII completely. Going back out to work for himself. Something with a much lower profile."

"I'm sorry to hear that," I answered. "If he does leave, he will be missed." Not to mention that he'd be the first to ever quit the Freedom League.

"Agreed. So, what's new with you, Jess?"

I told Microwave about my latest adventures since the last time I had seen her. Covering my time in Los Angeles, the robbery here at CII, and my adventures with the Huntress and Muskateer. I also told her about Sheryl's job offer.

"I think that's a wonderful idea!", was Beth's response. "You're very deserving of this promotion."

"Then you think I should take the job?"

"Definitely! It would be so refreshing to work with someone who actually knows what you are talking about. Too often, these young execs come straight out of college with little or no experience in the scientific fields that they oversee. I'd be happy to have you as a project supervisor."

I really hadn't thought about it that way before. My own past experiences had shown this to be true as well. "I'm still considering it," I finally answered.

We chatted for a while longer before going our separate ways. Finally, I had made up my mind and started to make my way to Sheryl's Office. I knew from Jaime that she was currently present, her private helicopter landing an hour ago. I patiently waited while her private secretary announced my presence. While I waited, I kept mentally weighing the pros and cons of this new job. No matter what angle I looked at the problem, one side kept winning out.

I didn't have to wait long to get in to see Sheryl. She usually sees might right away anyway.

"Good morning, Jessica," Sheryl announced as she greeted me in front of her desk. Sheryl was fashionably dressed in a matching jacket and skirt, over a silk blouse. She had several tasteful pieces of jewelry on. "Have you decided?"

"Hey, Sheryl. I've been going over this ever since we talked about it and I've reached a decision. I'll take the job." And I hoped that I wasn't getting in over my head at the same time or would live to regret it.